Nathan M. Quichocho of Tinian, who was sworn in during CDA’s Development Corporation Division board meeting on Saturday, said he wants to see the CNMI design an economic plan with the help of professionals.
Quichocho, a graduate of Portland University with a bachelor of science degree major in micro/molecular biology, has been an intern with the Law Offices of Ramon K. Quichocho since he moved back to Tinian in July 2010.
In his letter to Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos dated Jan. 24, 2011 regarding his nomination, Quichocho wrote, “It is an honor and a duty to return home, after college, and contribute to the community and land that I love.”
Confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 11, Quichocho told Variety that he looks forward to working with the secretary of the Department of Commerce, CDA Executive Director Manuel A. Sablan and legal counsel F. Matthew Smith on a number of relevant pieces of legislation.
For Quichocho, the single most important thing that he would like accomplished is working with Commerce in getting an Economic Development Office staffed with professional team of economists well versed in economic development to stay here permanently.
“What we need to do is come up with a comprehensive economic plan designed by professionals, guided by sound legislation for development, and grounded with reliable data to build a diverse economy integrating three islands,” said Quichocho.
In a globally competitive world, he said the CNMI is being outpaced and will eventually be left behind and this is the reason that necessitates for professional economists to stay in the commonwealth to deal with the dynamic global economic climate.
He also discussed with the CDA executive director his intent to work with him and CDA legal counsel Smith in drafting legislation.
Quichocho said he will propose removing compounded interest from judgment.
Compounded interest, he added, only ensures that the entrepreneurs struggling to make payments fail under the weight of interest.
He also would like to see legislation that will stop deficiency judgments.
“Deficiency judgments allow banks to continue to pursue lenders, even after all their assets have been taken. So our people lose their home and everything they possibly own, if it doesn’t cover the entirety of the loan amount, deficiency judgments ensure they do not have opportunity to rise again,” he said.
He also said he would like to have a uniform criteria for waiver of interest to ensure that preferential treatment for possible waivers on interest do not occur but instead is dictated by specific criteria.
In his capacity as a member of the CDA board, Quichocho would like to contribute and help the people during “these tough and uncertain times.”
